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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. object — to protest
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rash — a series
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. land — ground
  8. mark — a grade
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. land — a country
  13. root — the cause
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. root — of a plant
  16. mark — a trace
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. rash — hasty
  19. object — a thing
  20. foot — a measure
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. object — an aim
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. root — of a word

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com